Panel construction



March 16, 1948. c. v. SWEET PANEL CONSTRUCTION? Filed Jan. 23, 1945 3W S V L L o .R R A C it u ?etented Mar. 36, is

' N E T I a srafraseara anew , orrrca PANEL QJQNSTEQEJETION Carroll l9. Sweet, Madison, Wis; dedicated to the free use of the People in the Territory of the United States Application danuary as, as, Serial a... 574,172

2 Claims. (Cl. all-i5) This application is made under the act of March 8, 1883, as amended by the act of April so, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

I hereby dedicate the invention herein described to the free use of the people in the territory of the United States to take effect on the granting of a patent to me.

This invention relates to a panel construction.

In wood panel constructions or wainscoting, especially in interior work, the joints between the panels often detract from the appearance of the paneling. This is especially true when changes in temperature and moisture conditions of the atmosphere cause the panels to contract and expand, creating a displeasing efiect due to diflerent spacings between the panels.

It is the general object of this invention to provide specially constructed joints between such panels and decorative strips of material to fit into the joints so as to improve their appearance, notwithstanding distortion due to atmospheric conditions. It is also an object of this invention to provide such strips in forms which will permit them to be removed when desired, thereby permitting refinishing or replacement thereof without disturbing the panels.

It is a further object of this invention to provide strips of the type mentioned which do not require the use of other devices, such as nails, screws, bolts, and so forth, to hold them in place.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of such strips which are simple and easy to put into place and which do not require any particular skill.

My invention, in general, comprises panels which are disposed edge to edge in a plane and which are subject to contraction and expansion, and a decorative strip of material of any suitable type, such as metal or plastic, that is thin and resilient, out of which a number of forms may be fabricated. Depending upon the form used, the adjacent edges of the panels are prefinished so as to receive and hold in place the resilient strips biased into continuous engagement with the panels regardless of expansion and contraction.

The following description, considered together with the accompanying drawing, will disclose this invention more fully, and other objects and advantages thereof will be apparent.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevaticnal view of a paneling construction showing one form of the joint cover strip of my invention in place.

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figures 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of other forms of the paneling construction.

Referring with more particularity to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, H designates one of a plurality of similar, assembled panels of a panel construction, in which the panels are disposed edge to edge in a plane presenting a rear face and a front face of finished appearance as viewed in Figure 1. Each panel at its edge adjacent the edge of another panel has cut-away corners to provide plane surfaces, as shown at l2, l3, l4 and I5, at the front face and rear face of the panel and extending longitudinally of the edge and at obtuse angles to the front face and rear face. This provides V-shaped grooves at adjacent edges opening toward the front face and rear face.

A decorative strip I6 is made of thin resilient metal, such as steel, plastic, aluminum, brass, copper, and so forth, and is bent longitudinally in the form of a triangular prism open along'one edge, the prism fitting the V-shaped groove opening toward the front face, with the side I! opposite the open edge substantially fiush with the front face of the panel, and the sides 18 and i9 mating with the sides l2 and M of the groove. The strip is further provided with webs 2!} and 2! extending from the sides l8 and i9. These webs have extensions 22 and 23 shaped to mate with the sides of the V-shaped groove opening toward the rear face.

The front side I! may have any type of decorative appearance desired. It may be painted or otherwise coated in any color or colors, provided with various ornamental designs, or left in the natural color of the material from which it is a made.

The strips are fabricated with the sides sprung outward. To place the strips in position, the extensions 22 and 23 are squeezed together against the resilient action of the material and pushed into position at the joint. When released, the strip tends to expand by virtue of the resilient action and biases the sides of the prism and the extensions into continuous engagement with their mating plane surfaces. Should the edges of adjacent panels be drawn closer together or further apart due to atmospheric changes, the strip will compress or expand as the case may be. due to its resiliency, and therefore will always fit snugly in the joint. when it is desired to remove the strip, it is only necessary to pry it out by force sufficient to collapse the extensions 22 and- 23 together as they pass through the narrow space between the panel edges.

The construction shown in Figure 3 varies from the one above described in that the extensions 25 and 2'5 are connected to sides 21 and 28 by webs 29 and 30, respectively, which are narrower than the webs of the construction shown in Figure 2. The edges of the adjacent panels are correspondingly modified. In this case, portions 3| and 32, in the form of cut-away slots in the panels into which the extensions are fitted, extend diagonally to the rear. This provides a suriaceat the edge of each panel remote from the front face thereof and extending longitudinally of the edge at an obtuse angle to the rear face corresponding to surfaces I 3 and I of Figure 2.

The construction shown in Figure 4 is generally similar to that shown in Figure 3. In this modification, however, the strip has only one extension 33. The opposite web 34 of the strip projects straight toward the rear face of the panel. The cut-away portion in the panel to receive the extension 33 is also made more open. The strip in the form of Figure 4 is more easily inserted and removed than that of Figure 3.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A panel construction comprising panels which are subject to contraction and expansion and which are disposed edge to edge in a plane presenting a rear face and a front face of finished appearance, each of said panels at its edge adjacent the edge of another panel having a cutaway corner to provide a plane surface at the front face of the panel extending longitudinally of the edge and at an obtuse angle to the front face, thus to provide a V-shaped groove at the adjacent edges opening toward the front face, at least one of said panels at the said edge having a cut-away portion to provide a plane surface remote from the front face and extending longitudinally of the edge at an obtuse angle to the rear face, and a decorative strip of resilient material bent longitudinally in the form of a triangular prism open along one edge and shaped 4 serted between the adjacent panels with the side opposite the open edge flush with the front face and biased to press the sides of the triangular prism adjacent the open edge and the extension into continuous engagement with their mating plane surfaces.

2. A panel construction comprising panels which are subject to contraction and expansion and which are disposed edge to edge in a plane presenting a rear face and a front face of finished appearance, each of said panels at its edge adjacent the edge of anotherpanel having cut-away comers to provide plane surfaces at the front fac and rear face of the panel and extending longitudinally of the edge and at obtuse angles to the front face and rear face, respectively, thus to provide V-shaped grooves at the adjacent edges opening toward the front face and rear face, and a decorative strip of resilient material bent longitudinally in th form of a triangular prism open along one edge and shaped to fit the V-shaped groove with the side opposite the open edge substantially flush with the front face and the sides adjacent the open edge mating with the sides of the V-shaped groove opening toward the front face, said strip having webs extending from the sides adjacent said open edge, said webs having extensions shaped to mate with the sides of the V-shaped groove opening toward the rear face, said strip being inserted between the adjacent panels with the side opposite the open edge substantially flush with the front face an J. biased to press the sides of th triangular prism adjacent the open edge and the extensions into continuous engagement with their mating plane surfaces.

CARROLL V. SWEET.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

